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Sustainability Certificate

Addressing the challenge of using earth's resources sustainably requires a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach, in which basic research about the causes and consequences of environmental problems is combined with an understanding of the incentives and processes for a large-scale reworking of economic activity and the technology with which to reconfigure the human effect on the natural world. Wellesley, Olin, and Babson Colleges are uniquely suited to address this challenge by providing a joint program capable of educating students in ways that each cannot accomplish alone. By truly integrating business, engineering, and the liberal arts in the service of environmental sustainability, this program will provide students with the cross- disciplinary academic preparation and the cross-campus cultural collaboration experiences needed to approach environmental issues holistically.

Goals

The Sustainability Certificate Program seeks to educate students to make use of the skills, tools, and concepts from the liberal arts, business, and engineering to address environmental challenges and work to move individuals and society to more sustainable practices.

The three electives, with the possibility of petitioning to accept a course not on this list, must include one course in each of the two non-home areas - business, engineering, and the liberal arts - and one course at each of the two non-home institutions. These courses provide an interdisciplinary breadth of knowledge, skills and experiences relating to environmental sustainability. Note that several elective courses require that a student choose a major course project focused on sustainability issues.

The use of the five required certificate courses to meet home-institution graduation requirements is limited in the following ways.

The Introductory and Synthesis courses cannot count towards any other institutional requirement

Any certificate elective can also count for any distribution requirement

Specific home-institution course requirements cannot count as a certificate elective. At this time, this just means that Olin students cannot use either Design Nature or Modeling and Simulation as a certificate elective

Any multi-campus course approved as a certificate elective cannot count as an institution specific course

Introduction to Sustainability:

Babson: CVA 2013/ Olin: SUST 2201/ Wellesley: SUST 201

This case-based course introduces students to the basic concepts and tools that business, engineering, and the liberal arts (science, social science, and the humanities) bring to a consideration of sustainability. It is team-taught by three faculty members, one from each institution, with coursework fully integrated across the three approaches. The course will draw empirical material from, and apply concepts and tools, to a semester long case (such as the sustainability of a city block, the transition to clean energy worldwide, or the life-cycle of a common consumer product). Course meetings will take place at Wellesley, Olin, and Babson colleges.

Sustainabilty Synthesis:

Babson: SUST 3600/ Olin: SUST 3301/ Wellesley: SUST 301

This project-based course provides students with a chance to apply and integrate the concepts and the tools of business, engineering, and the liberal arts (science, social science, and the humanities) to address sustainability. Students will work in multi-campus groups on a project with a client throughout the semester, along with common readings and discussions about processes and project stages taking place in class time. Course meetings will take place at Olin College.Prerequisites: Declared participation in the certificate program, and completion of the Introductory Course and two out of three elective courses for the program.

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Admission

Students ordinarily will declare their intention to pursue the certificate program after completing the Introductory Course; they must do so before enrolling in the Synthesis Course. Students with declared program participation will have preferential enrollment opportunities for the cross-campus electives. Interested and declared students should work with the Sustainability Certificate Campus Advisor for their home institution to pursue the certificate program; students may also contact the overall program director. Advising is a central part of ensuring a coherent structure to the certificate program, so students are encouraged to declare their intention to complete the program as soon as they can.

Please complete theDeclaration Form in coordination with your Campus Advisor and submit it to your Registrar to declare your intention to complete the program.